From the moment you discuss concerns about your child with a professional at their setting, school or your family doctor (GP), different services will be available to support your child through the assessment and diagnostic pathway.
This page will explore each professional's different roles, how each service may be involved in your child's assessment and what you can do to support the process.
Before your referral, you may have already encountered some professionals working towards supporting your child. They could be:
In addition to these services, upon your referral being accepted, other professionals who work as part of the Neurodevelopmental Service (NDS) will become involved, they could include:
The neurodevelopmental service is made up of a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals. During the whole assessment process, their observations will be made in line with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and the diagnostic discussions they have to come to a decision will be based on these criteria.
All observations and evidence gathering towards your child's assessment will be made by the professionals best suited to your child's needs and discussed at a multi-professional panel meeting to decide an outcome.
When a conclusion has been reached, you will be offered a feedback appointment with a member of the panel to go through what this means for you and your family. The Neurodevelopmental Service is an assessment-only service, which means they will give you information about the next steps and where to find further support.
Your child's experiences and views are important to the assessment process, and it's the role of the professional to gain their views and have them represented during the assessment.
Professionals will consider:
As a caregiver, you should be involved in the process by being given space and time to tell your story and express your views.
To help you provide your experiences it can be helpful to collect information from other sources about how your child's differences are impacting them, for example, support they may be needing in extracurricular clubs, or from observations at school.
ADHD Nursing Service
We are a Team of Specialist Nurses and Non-Medical Prescribers who work within the Community Paediatric Service. We specialise in working with young people with a diagnosis of ADHD and supporting them with their medication.
Find information about the ADHD Nursing Service here
Just One Norfolk - Children's Sleep Advice
Our NHS parenting support website offers information and advice about sleep regarding children and teenagers.
Find sleep & behaviour pages here
Norfolk Family Hubs
Norfolk Family Hubs support parents and carers of children and young people with:
Visit Norfolk Family Hubs website
Early Help
If you have difficulties in your family, or if you are worried about your children, there are services and people available to support you. Early help is about giving information, advice, and guidance to families.
Your child will be assessed by members of the multidisciplinary team at each appointment. You can find out more about the practitioners you might see below.
See the neurodevelopmental team here
Let us know what you think!
We've been working together in Norfolk and Waveney with families and professionals to put together information, advice and resources that are helpful to families. Let us know what you think, and anything we could change or add to make it even better.
If you live in Norfolk
You can contact the Healthy Child Service team by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
If you are 11-19 you can text ChatHealth on 07480 635060 for confidential advice from one of our team.
If you live in Waveney
Norfolk SEND Local Offer provide information and advice on services for young people with additional needs in Norfolk.
Suffolk SEND Local Offer provide information and advice on services for young people with additional needs in Waveney.
Mencap is a national charity who support people with learning disabilities. They offer a free Learning Disability Helpline with advice and guidance. Call 0808 808 1111 to speak to a trained professional.
Kooth offers online counselling, advice and emotional well-being support for anyone aged 10-18, seven days a week until 10pm.
An Educational Psychologist (EP) or Clinical Psychologist (CP) applies psychology (the study of thinking, learning, emotions and
Occupational Therapists (OT) support neurodivergent children and young people with participating in daily life activities that they want, need and are expected to do. 
Speech and Language Therapists (SaLT) work with children and young people who have differences with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing. 
All children referred to the Neurodevelopmental Service under 6 years old will be seen by the Community Paediatrics Team before a referral is accepted. 
Neurodevelopmental nurses are highly specialised in understanding, observing and assessing neurodevelopmental conditions. 
